"The Supreme Courthas refused to hear aBoston University student'sconstitutional challengeto a $675,000 penalty for illegally downloading and sharing 30 songs on the Internet, but his lawyer says there's still a chance the amount could be reduced.

A jury in 2009 orderedJoel Tenenbaum, of Providence, R.I., to pay. A federal judge called the penalty constitutionally excessive, but the1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appealsreinstated it at the request of the Recording Industry Association of America.

Tenenbaum's attorney,Harvard law professor Charles Nesson, said he's disappointed the high court won't hear the case. But he said the 1st Circuit instructed a judge to consider reducing the award without deciding any constitutional challenge.

Nesson said Tenenbaum is just entering the job market and can't pay the penalty."

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At Amazon (AMZN) the ex-military men and women have formed something of a clique, at least in the fulfillment-center operations. Philip Dana, the company's talent acquisition manager for North America, served in the Navy, both as an enlisted man and an officer. (He persuaded Clancey to join Amazon.) Clancey's boss, Dan Fay, is another West Point grad. Josh Teeter, general manager of one of Amazon's pair of 1-million-square-foot facilities in Phoenix, was an Arabic linguist in the Army before joining Amazon.